I love ancestral food. In addition, photographing what goes on in my kitchen is a way for me to create and express beauty.
.
Many would judge this picture as anything but beautiful. I grew up in that ‘many’ and can feel its ties making me hesitate before posting.
.
Food that comes in plastic packets; cuts of meat that come from the middle of an animal; ready meals – these things do not give a clear visual cue of what they were. Because of this, it’s easier for us to not care how that animal lived.
.
To me, witnessing a scene like this is a moment of beauty. The reverence that it calls forth in me; the gravity with which it makes me grateful; the respect it gives me for all that a sustainable food system gives and takes.
.
It’s a duck that will nourish my family; one that was cared for by Flavio. I’ll use all the organs. I’ll make stock from the bones.
.
It has a face.
.
And it’s beautiful.